Metallo therapeutics for COVID-19. Exploiting metal-based compounds for the discovery of new antiviral drugs. Cirri, D., Pratesi, A., Marzo, T., & Messori, L. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 16(1):39–46, 2021. Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Metallo therapeutics for COVID-19. Exploiting metal-based compounds for the discovery of new antiviral drugs [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for the rapid discovery of drugs against this life-threatening disease. Owing to the peculiar features of the metal centers that are currently used in medicinal chemistry, metallodrugs might offer an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal. Areas covered: Two main strategies for developing metal-based drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 are herein illustrated. Firstly, a few clinically approved metallodrugs could be evaluated in patients according to a ‘drug repurposing’ approach. To this respect, the gold drug auranofin seems a promising candidate, but some other clinically established metal compounds are worthy of a careful evaluation as well. On the other hand, libraries of inorganic compounds, featuring a large chemical diversity, should be screened to identify the most effective molecules. This second strategy might be assisted by a pathway-driven discovery approach arising from a preliminary knowledge of the mode of action, exploitable to inhibit the functional activities of the key viral proteins. Also, attention must be paid to selectivity and toxicity issues. Expert opinion: The medicinal inorganic chemistry community may offer a valuable contribution against COVID-19. The screening of metallodrugs’ libraries can expand the explored ‘chemical space’ and increase the chance of finding effective anti-COVID agents.
@article{cirri_metallo_2021,
	title = {Metallo therapeutics for {COVID}-19. {Exploiting} metal-based compounds for the discovery of new antiviral drugs},
	volume = {16},
	issn = {1746045X},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/17460441.2020.1819236},
	doi = {10.1080/17460441.2020.1819236},
	abstract = {Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for the rapid discovery of drugs against this life-threatening disease. Owing to the peculiar features of the metal centers that are currently used in medicinal chemistry, metallodrugs might offer an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal. Areas covered: Two main strategies for developing metal-based drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 are herein illustrated. Firstly, a few clinically approved metallodrugs could be evaluated in patients according to a ‘drug repurposing’ approach. To this respect, the gold drug auranofin seems a promising candidate, but some other clinically established metal compounds are worthy of a careful evaluation as well. On the other hand, libraries of inorganic compounds, featuring a large chemical diversity, should be screened to identify the most effective molecules. This second strategy might be assisted by a pathway-driven discovery approach arising from a preliminary knowledge of the mode of action, exploitable to inhibit the functional activities of the key viral proteins. Also, attention must be paid to selectivity and toxicity issues. Expert opinion: The medicinal inorganic chemistry community may offer a valuable contribution against COVID-19. The screening of metallodrugs’ libraries can expand the explored ‘chemical space’ and increase the chance of finding effective anti-COVID agents.},
	number = {1},
	journal = {Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery},
	author = {Cirri, Damiano and Pratesi, Alessandro and Marzo, Tiziano and Messori, Luigi},
	year = {2021},
	pmid = {32915656},
	note = {Publisher: Taylor \& Francis},
	keywords = {Auranofin, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, drug repurposing, inorganic pharmacology, metal-based drugs},
	pages = {39--46},
}

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